Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 494 › Conversation 494-001
Nixon & Bull on Harry S. Truman and Presidential correspondence
Saturday, May 8, 1971 · 9:16 AM–10:05 AM ET · Oval Office
AI Summary
President Nixon met with his aide Stephen B. Bull to discuss the drafting of a birthday telegram for former President Harry S. Truman. During the exchange, Nixon dismissively instructed Bull to discard or destroy a specific draft of the message. This brief interaction highlights the President's personal involvement in routine executive correspondence and his decisive, if curt, approach to administrative tasks.
Audio
Download MP3 (part 1) · 167.7 MB ·Download MP3 (part 2) · 106.9 MB
This conversation has not yet been cut into its own clip, so the player above contains the full tape segment shared with neighbouring conversations. It begins about 00:04:42 into the tape and ends around 00:07:16.
Transcript (AI-generated)
This transcript was generated automatically by AI (WhisperX) and has not been reviewed for accuracy. Names and numbers are often wrong; speakers are not identified. Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.
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NARA Description
On May 8, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 9:16 am and 10:05 am. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 494-001 of the White House Tapes.
Nixon Library Finding Aid
Conversation No. 494-1
Date: May 8, 1971
Time: Unknown between 9:16 am and 10:05 am
Location: Oval Office
The President met with Stephen B. Bull.
Harry S. Truman's birthday
-A telegram from President
Bull left at an unknown time before 10:05 am.Also recorded on May 8, 1971
- 494-002 9:16 AM · 30 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 9:16 am and 10:05 am.
- 494-003 10:15 AM · 27 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Walter E. Washington, Jerry V. Wilson, Hugh McClellan Exton, Roland Merrill Gleszer, Charles Southward, John W. Dean, III, and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the Oval Office of the White House from 10:15 am to 10:32 am.
- 494-004 10:33 AM · 2 hr 21 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, Stephen B. Bull, Ronald L. Ziegler, John D. Ehrlichman, White House operator, and John N. Mitchell met in the Oval Office of the White House from 10:33 am to 1:12 pm.
- 002-124 11:45 AM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 11:45 am and 11:49 am.
- 002-125 11:49 AM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and John N. Mitchell talked on the telephone from 11:49 am to 11:51 am.
- 494-005 1:12 PM · 32 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 1:12 pm and 1:35 pm.
- 494-006 1:35 PM · 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 1:35 pm and 1:40 pm.
- 494-007 1:50 PM · 36 sec — President Richard M. Nixon, Alexander P. Butterfield, and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 1:50 pm and 1:55 pm.
Cite this conversation
Conversation 494-001, May 8, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/494-001 (accessed October 3, 2026).